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Ellamyua (Peteroff):![]() Ellamyua
On the 12th of September, 1992, Ole Lake, David Evan, and I went upriver to do some moose hunting. We planned the trip for three days and had already bought and packed all our supplies. We planned to leave late in the afternoon, but had some second thoughts. That morning it was raining and by noon the wind had picked up and the river was getting rough. But they decided that we would go anyway. Since I was only thirteen, I didn't have any say, but I didn't mind. So we loaded up the boat and left. The rain had stopped but the wind was still up. The river wasn't bad until we got near Kuik Island. There we had to cross the river. Ole was driving, and he slowed the boat to a plowing speed and turned into the waves. It was rough, and water splashed in every time the boat slapped against the water. And when the waves slapped the boat they turned it in any direction. We knew then that we were at the mercy of the river. The wind ripped at the water and at us, but we finally made it to the safety of the other side. By then it was more fun than fright. From that point on we traced the river bank, and as we rode along I looked out toward the water and watched the towering white-capped waves. Around Devil's Elbow it got calm and the only waves in the water were tiny ripples. We traveled fast from there to Ohogmiut where it was rough again. The wind was steady and strong, and it turned the water into large rolling waves. Ole's boat was 22 feet long, pretty big by my standards, but when we got into those waves it felt like we were a peanut shell afloat in the Pacific Ocean. When we were at the top of a wave it felt like we were on a small hill, and when we were in between the waves I couldn't see anything but water. If the wind had been blowing toward us the waves would have probably rolled right over the boat. It took us two hours to get from Ohogamiut to Seven mile Slough where from there on the river was calm. When we finally stopped at a suitable campsite we ate just as the sun was setting. The clouds had broken up and the setting sun turned the sky into beautiful shades of pink and purple. The water was the same color as the sky and dead calm. The wind was gone. By: Ben Peteroff | |
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